1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to aircraft, and more specifically to a toy glider kite.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Toy tow line launched gliders are generally known in the art of which most use a line-ring hook combination to effect release of the glider once it is airborne. Although this type of release mechanism is capable of releasing a glider, it suffers from certain undesirable disadvantages. One disadvantage is the tendency of the ring to release prematurely or not at all. Another disadvantage of such prior launched gliders is that they either function well as a stable kite but do not function well as a glider due to poor glide characteristics, or function well as a glider but do not function well as a kite. Such a kite is difficult for children to launch since the launching conditions such as wind speed, running speed, etc., are critical.
It is further known in the art to provide a glider kite having one portion of the aircraft functioning mainly as a kite and a separate portion of the aircraft functioning mainly as a glider. An aircraft of this type is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,153,877. This aircraft has the disadvantages that the kite and glider portions of the aircraft tend to function at cross purposes thereby making launching difficult and the gliding characteristics less desirable.